1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to manufacturing U-shaped spacers that may be utilized between glass sheets on sealed windows.
2. Description of the Related Art
Directing attention to FIGS. 1 and 2, an insulating unit 10 includes an edge assembly 12 used to space apart sheets 14, typically coated and/or uncoated glass sheets. The edge assembly 12 includes moisture and gas impervious adhesive-type sealant layers 16 which adhere to the glass sheets 14 and the sides 18 of the spacer 20, which is typically a U-shaped channel, to provide a compartment 22 between the sheets 14. The sealant layers 16 act as barriers to moisture entering the unit and/or to prevent gas, such as an insulating gas, from exiting the compartment 22. An additional adhesive sealant-type layer or structural adhesive layer 24 can be provided in a perimeter groove of the unit 10 formed by the spacer 20 and marginal edges of the sheets 14. A thin layer or bead 26 of a matrix with moisture and/or gas pervious adhesive having a desiccant 28 therein to absorb moisture in the compartment 22 can be provided on the inner surface of the bottom of the metal spacer 20, as viewed in FIG. 2. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the insulating unit 10 may have a rectangular or square shape and, as a result, each corner region 28 of the metal spacer 20 must be designed to accommodate bending. In general, the corner regions 28 are typically perforated such that the opposing sides 45, 50 in the corner region 28 collapse inwardly as the spacer 20 is folded.
Typically, these spacers 20 are manufactured in mass production using a machine that has been set up and dedicated to fabricating spacers of a particular size (e.g., width, depth, length, etc.). Once the run for a particular sized spacer has been completed, the machine is modified and spacers of a different size are thereafter produced. However, with relative frequency, a particular spacer from a previous run can be damaged or destroyed such that it must be replaced. Retooling a machine for the production of one or a few replacement spacers 20 after the run for that spacer has been completed is neither economical nor efficient. It should be noted, however, that it is relatively simple to produce single length straight spacer pieces that do not have corner configurations and that have not been bent. However, there is neither a device nor a method available for further processing pre-existing spacers to accommodate an insulating unit such as that illustrated in FIG. 1.
Additionally, during the process of forming insulating units, opposing ends of the spacer 20 are mated to one another to form the insulating unit 10. To introduce an insulating gas between the glass sheets 14, an access hole typically extends through the overlapping portion of the opposing sides and into the compartment 22. After introduction of the gas, the access hole can be sealed using, for example, a screw extending therethrough such that the inert gas is retained within the compartment 22.
Once again, during mass production of spacers 20 to be utilized with a particular insulating unit 10, the ends of each spacer 20 can be formed and the axis hole introduced. However, in the event individual pre-existing spacer units must be customized for particular insulating units 10, there is neither a device nor a method currently available to cut such access holes to provide such a configuration.
A need exists for a device and/or a method for processing spacers 20 to accommodate the different shapes of a variety of different insulating units without the need to retool mass production machinery.